James Carville Defends Mary Peltola. Will Alaska Voters Do the Same? - Newsweek

Longtime political commentator James Carville defended Alaska's Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate on Monday, saying staffers who complain about Democrats needed to put their heads down to "save the country."

The allegations against Mary Peltola, the state's former congresswoman, included alleged use of slurs and angry outbursts, which her campaign defended as coming at a time when she was struggling with the losses of her mother and husband.

While those reports drew widespread attention in political circles, it remains to be seen whether voters will take Carville's stance or be swayed by the anonymous allegations when making their choice in a key Senate race that could decide the balance of power in the country's top legislative chamber.

"Let’s stop this nonsense that everybody that works in politics is all equal and everyone’s opinion needs to be respected," Carville said in a video shared to his YouTube channel. "Oh s**t, I listen to all this nonsense online. But do me a favor, if you’re that f***ing delicate, if you’re that much of some kind of a honeysuckle or whatever it is, go do something else with your life, all right? Don’t get into a rough-and-tumble, live-or-die, win-or-lose, winner-take-all business—because you’re too weak. You’re too soft."

Carville ended the video by speaking to staffers, saying, "Just put your head down, work your a** off, save the country, and f**k your feelings!"

Newsweek reached out to Peltola's campaign for comment Thursday afternoon.

Since the allegations were published by The New York Times last week, publicly available data on voter sentiment appears unchanged.

The most recent indications come from prediction markets, with Polymarket showing Peltola with a 73 percent chance of winning the election over her Republican rival, incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan, although the lead took a slight hit in the past seven days. Kalshi also showed Peltola with a strong lead over Sullivan, at around 69 percent to 31 percent.

Art Hackney, a longtime Alaskan political strategist and commentator who runs a super PAC which backs Sullivan, told Newsweek it was hard to tell whether the reports around Peltola's conduct would matter to voters at all.

"As a political/messaging consultant since the late 70s, the best answer is 'who the Hell knows!?'" Hackney said. "Mary Peltola has been known as a no-show hothead with no critical thinking abilities and no record of accomplishment for the last 20 years. But she has a great smile and a high level of favorability as a result."

Hackney suggested Sullivan's recent record may outweigh the allegations, saying the senator had worked "with an increasingly unpopular President to achieve great progress on Alaska resource issues."

The strategist said those achievements might outweigh being described as the president's "yes man."

Recent polling, largely conducted before the Times article, also showed Peltola in the lead, although with a far narrower margin than on prediction markets.

RealClearPolitics' latest average showed the Democrat with 50.3 percent of the vote compared to 48 percent for Sullivan, while Pollsmax, another aggregator, put them at 49.7 percent and 47.1 percent respectively.

"This election is balanced on the head of a pin and will be played out in the final two weeks as undecideds weigh the impact their vote will have on them personally," Hackney said.

Peltola's campaign has continued to post frequently on social media about her policies and criticisms of Sullivan. In a September 30 post, the Democrat focused on one of the midterms' key issues: affordability.

"Rising costs are one thing when you're talking about the Lower 48. In Alaska, it's a whole different ballgame—we're facing the highest costs in the nation," she said.

"We need leaders fighting to bring costs down, not leaders who voted for the price-hiking Iran war more than 10 times," in an apparent dig at her opponent who has supported the conflict.

Sullivan has appeared alongside the president in recent days, as the White House announced a $50 billion investment in the state by South Korea, which he said would create over 10,000 jobs.

"This project will also strengthen America’s energy security and provide our allies with reliable, abundant American energy from one of the world’s great energy superpowers—Alaska," he said in a press release.

A super PAC supporting the Republican's campaign also released a new ad based around the allegations against Peltola, saying she had revealed who she truly was.

"If that's how Mary Peltola treats her closest aides, imagine what she'd do to you," the ad voice-over said.

One of the key issues facing candidates and voters this November is AI, with deep divides across the U.S. over data centers and the technology's potential safety issues.

The topic does not appear to be as big of an issue in Alaska, but the candidates will still need to give clear messaging on something dominating the national debate.

Peltola does not list AI as a top priority on her site, focusing on rural communities, the cost of living, and fisheries.

Earlier this year, the Alaska Watchman reported that a liberal super PAC supporting her used an AI-powered program to analyze voter concerns and help target campaign messaging.

As a senator, Sullivan has shown strong support for AI, as well as its regulation. The Republican has endorsed Trump's National AI Policy Framework and cosponsored bills to boost the United States' leadership on the issue.

The Alaska race is drawing attention because Democrats see it as an opportunity to flip a red seat blue and take back control of the U.S. Senate.

Unlike in other GOP-leaning states where Democrats are looking to flip a seat, Peltola has a unique advantage: she has already shown she can attract native voters, organized labor, moderate Republicans and independents after her House win in 2022.

The race is being viewed as somewhat of a referendum on the state's political identity and whether it remains strongly Republican or willing to accept a more independent or left-leaning voice.

Update 10/1/26, 6:07 p.m. ET: This article was updated with more details on Art Hackney.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Kate Nalepinski and Sam Wilson.